Hirayu-no-Mori

What it is like

Next to the bus terminal at Hirayu, the gateway to the Okuhida hot-spring villages, this day spa scatters no fewer than 16 open-air pools through a Northern Alps forest for just ¥700 — which is why it is often called the best-value day bath in Japan. Hirayu is the oldest spring in Okuhida, discovered according to legend when a white monkey led Takeda Shingen's troops to it, and it gushes about 10,000 litres a minute. The sulphurous bicarbonate-chloride water varies from milky white to bluish to nearly clear from pool to pool, and temperatures range from hot to tepid, so you wander from tub to tub through the trees as if on a bath crawl. The all-cypress indoor bath, with its high ceiling and scent of wood, is a pleasure too, and snow bathing from December to March is the most popular season. Many visitors stop here on the way back from Kamikōchi, Norikura or the Shinhotaka Ropeway — the location means you can fit a soak into a bus connection.

Facilities, what to bring & tips

• Shampoo and body wash provided; towels sold and rented, so you can come empty-handed. ¥100 refundable lockers.
• The open-air area is large and you walk between pools naked — cold underfoot in winter (sandals provided). Lighting is subdued at night, so watch your step.
• Sulphur tarnishes silver, and the abundant yunohana flakes can mark white towels.
• Private baths run 12:00–15:00 only, first come first served on the day (no reservations) — arrive before noon to be sure.
• Tattoos are not permitted (house rule).
• With a restaurant and rest hall you can bathe, eat lunch and bathe again (re-entry allowed with your ticket).
• Busiest 1–5 pm on weekends and holidays, and in the late afternoon when Kamikōchi traffic returns. Weekday mornings or after 7 pm are quiet.
• Cash, credit cards and e-money accepted (as of 2025).

Access and surroundings

Two minutes' walk from Hirayu Onsen bus terminal. Nōhi Bus from Takayama (Shinhotaka-bound) takes 55–60 minutes; Alpico from Matsumoto about 1 h 25 min; the shuttle from Kamikōchi about 25 minutes; the highway bus from Shinjuku about 4.5 hours. By car it is 45 minutes from Takayama IC or an hour from Matsumoto IC, right off the Hirayu exit of the Abō Pass road. Because private cars are banned from Kamikōchi and Norikura, many people park at Hirayu's Akandana car park and switch to buses — a bath before or after is the standard routine. Nearby are Hirayu Shrine, the donation-based rotenburo 'Hirayu no Yu' at the folk museum, and Hirayu Great Falls (5 minutes by car; illuminated when frozen in winter).